1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a wall mountable safety hatch. More specifically, the invention relates to a safety door escape hatch held in place by a seat belt like system for emergency exit from a room or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The basic concept of providing the exterior wall of a building, house trailer or similar dwelling with an emergency escape hatch or door is generally known and a commercially accepted practice. Such doors are usually installed in the outside wall to afford an emergency exit in case of a fire or other disaster. Historically, many different types of manually operated mechanisms have been suggested for opening the escape hatch door which principally has led to confusion and risk of operator error during an emergency, particularly in that many of the mechanisms are not readily recognizable by everyone and specifically young children. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,032,834 and 3,120,032 releasable emergency escape doors are disclosed wherein the manually operated release mechanism involves a centrally located handle which has to be twisted to withdraw internal latching rods. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,052 an escape door for trailers is disclosed wherein a cap has to be removed in order to expose a ball which is pushed to activate the spring loaded door. And, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,236 discloses a fire door which is equipped with a pivoting latch which after being turned 180.degree. allows the person to spin the door on a vertical axis. The difficulty with any or all of these proposed emergency hatches is that their mode of operation and method of use is not readily recognizable and as such, are not to be considered fail safe mechanically, particularly during a crisis situation. Thus, the need for a safety hatch which will automatically activate by virtue of performing an act that is quickly recognized by even young children during an emerency still exists.